Patentable/Patents/US-9781837
US-9781837

Electronic component mounting system and equipment unit management method for electronic component mounting system

PublishedOctober 3, 2017
Assigneenot available in USPTO data we have
Inventorsnot available in USPTO data we have
Technical Abstract

An electronic component mounting system stores: manufacturing plan data for each manufacturing lot; unit management data including use permission information indicating a use permission status of an equipment unit; and inventory data indicating a stock status of the equipment units. In a unit reservation processing, new allocation processing is performed for allocating an equipment unit necessary for manufacture of a new manufacturing lot to an equipment unit for a new manufacturing lot, and an allocation result is registered. The system determines whether an equipment unit of an allocation subject in the new allocation processing can be allocated to an equipment unit for the new manufacturing lot by referring to use permission information of the equipment unit, and if the equipment unit is determined as being usable, the unit reservation processing is performed.

Patent Claims
8 claims

Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.

Claim 1

Original Legal Text

1. An electronic component mounting system for manufacturing a mounted board by mounting an electronic component on a board, said electronic component mounting system comprising: an electronic component mounting line which performs a component mounting operation for mounting an electronic component; a manufacturing plan data storage section which stores, for each of a plurality of manufacturing lots of mounted boards serving as manufacturing subjects of the electronic component mounting line, manufacturing plan data that comprise at least a board type of each of the manufacturing lots, a manufacturing period of each of the manufacturing lots, and a number of boards to be manufactured of each of the manufacturing lots; a unit management data storage section which stores unit management data that comprise use permission information indicating a use permission status of an individual equipment unit to be used by being attached to the electronic component mounting line in the component mounting operation; an inventory data storage section which stores inventory data indicating a stock status of the equipment units; and a unit reserving section which performs unit reservation processing comprising: performing new allocation processing of allocating an equipment unit necessary for manufacture of a new manufacturing lot to an equipment unit for a new manufacturing lot newly serving as the subject of manufacture of the electronic component mounting line; and registering an allocation result in the inventory data storage section, wherein the unit reserving section determines whether an equipment unit of an allocation subject in the new allocation processing can be allocated to an equipment unit for the new manufacturing lot by referring to use permission information of the equipment unit of the allocation subject, and if it is determined that the equipment unit of the allocation subject is usable, the unit reserving section performs the unit reservation processing, wherein the unit management data comprise use history data indicating use history of the individual equipment unit and use limit data that define a use limit for each type of the equipment unit, and wherein the unit reserving section predicts use history data, under a state after the manufacture of the new manufacturing lot, of an equipment unit of a subject of the unit reservation processing based on its manufacturing plan data, and does not perform the unit reservation processing on the equipment unit if the predicted use history data will reach the use limit data of the equipment unit of the subject of the unit reservation processing.

Plain English Translation

An electronic component mounting system manufactures circuit boards by placing electronic components on them. The system has a component mounting line, storage for manufacturing plans (board type, manufacturing period, number of boards per lot), unit management data (use permission status of each equipment unit like feeders or nozzles), and inventory data (stock status of equipment units). The system allocates equipment units to new manufacturing lots and records the allocation. Before allocating an equipment unit, the system checks if it's usable based on its use permission. Unit management data includes the equipment unit's use history and use limits. The system predicts the equipment unit's usage based on the new manufacturing lot's plan. If the predicted usage exceeds the limit, the unit reservation will not proceed for that equipment.

Claim 2

Original Legal Text

2. The electronic component mounting system according to claim 1 , wherein use permission information of an equipment unit having the use history data which has reached the use limit data thereof is set to be unusable.

Plain English Translation

In the electronic component mounting system where equipment units have a use history and limits on usage, if an equipment unit's use history reaches its defined limit, its use permission is automatically set to "unusable." This prevents further allocation of the component until maintenance is performed. This ensures that components are used for limited time and avoids production error.

Claim 3

Original Legal Text

3. The electronic component mounting system according to claim 1 , wherein the use history data and the use limit data comprise at least one of a number of times, an error rate, and elapsed days or hours from preceding maintenance work.

Plain English Translation

In the electronic component mounting system, the "use history data" and "use limit data" for an equipment unit includes at least one of the following metrics: the number of times the unit has been used, the error rate (number of errors encountered during operation), or the elapsed time (days or hours) since the equipment unit's last maintenance or calibration. This provides multiple factors which determines when maintenance needs to be performed.

Claim 4

Original Legal Text

4. The electronic component mounting system according to claim 1 , wherein the equipment unit is a parts feeder for supplying an electronic component to the mounting line or a nozzle for absorbing and holding an electronic component.

Plain English Translation

In the electronic component mounting system, the equipment units being managed are either parts feeders (devices that supply electronic components to the mounting line) or nozzles (devices that pick up and hold electronic components for placement on the board). The system thus checks allocation and manages wear and tear of parts feeders and nozzles.

Claim 5

Original Legal Text

5. An equipment unit management method for an electronic component mounting system for managing an equipment unit to be used for an component mounting operation in an electronic component mounting system for manufacturing a mounted board by mounting an electronic component on a board, wherein the electronic component mounting system comprises: an electronic component mounting line which performs a component mounting operation for mounting an electronic component; a manufacturing plan data storage section which stores, for each of a plurality of manufacturing lots of mounted boards serving as manufacturing subjects of the electronic component mounting line, manufacturing plan data that comprise at a least board type of each of the manufacturing lots, a manufacturing period of each of the manufacturing lots, and a number of boards to be manufactured of each of the manufacturing lots; a unit management data storage section which stores unit management data that comprise use permission information indicating a use permission status of an individual equipment unit to be used by being attached to the electronic component mounting line in the component mounting operation; an inventory data storage section which stores inventory data indicating a stock status of the equipment units; and a unit reserving section which performs unit reservation processing comprising: performing new allocation processing of allocating an equipment unit necessary for manufacture of a new manufacturing lot to an equipment unit for a new manufacturing lot newly serving as the subject of manufacture of the electronic component mounting line; and registering an allocation result in the inventory data storage section, said equipment unit management method comprising: determining whether an equipment unit of an allocation subject in the new allocation processing can be allocated to an equipment unit for the new manufacturing lot by referring to use permission information of the equipment unit of the allocation subject; and performing the unit reservation processing if it is determined that the equipment unit of the allocation subject is usable, wherein the unit management data comprise use history data indicating use history of the individual equipment unit and use limit data that define a use limit for each type of the equipment unit; and wherein in the unit reservation processing, use history data, under a state after the manufacture of the new manufacturing lot, of an equipment unit of a subject of the unit reservation processing is predicted based on its manufacturing plan data, and the unit reservation processing is not performed on the equipment unit if the predicted use history data will reach the use limit data of the equipment unit of the subject of the unit reservation processing.

Plain English Translation

An equipment unit management method manages equipment units (like parts feeders and nozzles) used in an electronic component mounting system that builds circuit boards. The system includes a mounting line, stores manufacturing plans (board type, period, number of boards), unit management data (use permission status), and inventory data. The method involves allocating equipment units to new manufacturing lots and recording the allocation. Before allocating an equipment unit, it checks if it's usable based on its use permission. The unit management data includes usage history and limits. The method predicts an equipment unit's usage based on the manufacturing plan, and if the predicted usage exceeds the defined limit, allocation is prevented.

Claim 6

Original Legal Text

6. The equipment unit management method for an electronic component mounting system according to claim 5 , wherein use permission information of an equipment unit having the use history data which has reached the use limit data is thereof is set to be unusable.

Plain English Translation

The equipment unit management method for an electronic component mounting system, where equipment units have a use history and usage limits, automatically sets an equipment unit's use permission to "unusable" when its use history reaches the defined limit. This prevents further allocation of the component until maintenance is performed.

Claim 7

Original Legal Text

7. The equipment unit management method for an electronic component mounting system according to claim 5 , wherein the use history data and the use limit data comprise at least one of a number of times, an error rate, and elapsed days or hours from preceding maintenance work.

Plain English Translation

The equipment unit management method for an electronic component mounting system includes "use history data" and "use limit data" that incorporates at least one of: the number of times the unit has been used, the error rate during its operation, or the elapsed time (days or hours) since its last maintenance.

Claim 8

Original Legal Text

8. The equipment unit management method for an electronic component mounting system according to claim 5 , wherein the equipment unit is a parts feeder for supplying an electronic component to the mounting line or a nozzle for absorbing and holding an electronic component.

Plain English Translation

In the equipment unit management method for an electronic component mounting system, the equipment units managed are either parts feeders (supplying components to the mounting line) or nozzles (picking and placing components on the board).

Classification Codes (CPC)

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Patent Metadata

Filing Date

February 21, 2013

Publication Date

October 3, 2017

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